COVID-19: China toll touches 2,981; around 50K recover

Beijing: The death toll due to the coronavirus outbreak in China increased since Tuesday by 38, taking the total to 2,981, while 119 new cases were detected, increasing the number of infected people to 80,270. Of those, 49,856 have recovered from the illness, officials said on Wednesday.

Here are the latest developments:

The Chinese health authority on Wednesday unveiled the latest version of the national diagnosis and treatment plan for COVID-19 which includes the results of autopsies of COVID-19 victims and pathological observation based on needle biopsies, Xinhua reported.

The country has added the antibody diagnosis method for COVID-19 and its relevant criteria in the country’s latest diagnosis and treatment scheme, which also includes warning against transmission of the novel coronavirus via aerosol or contact due to environmental pollution caused by the excrement and urine of patients.

China’s customs had detected 6,728 inbound travellers with illness symptoms as of Tuesday, among which 779 were suspected of being infected with COVID-19, and an additional 75 were confirmed patients.

Chinese banks had offered credit support of over 1.25 trillion yuan (about $180.4 billion) as of Wednesday noon to facilitate the resumption of production disrupted by the novel coronavirus epidemic.

By the end of Tuesday, the cure rate in the epicentre of COVID-19 Wuhan had ascended to 50.2 per cent, while the number has reached 76.8 per cent in the rest of Hubei Province, according to spokesperson Mi Feng for the National Health Commission.

Outside Hubei, China has seen 87.3 per cent of the confirmed cases recovering from the disease by Tuesday, Mi said.

Over 206,900 volunteers in Shanghai have joined the battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to the Shanghai Association of Volunteers.

The Chinese health authority on Wednesday said it received reports of 119 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 38 deaths on Tuesday on the Chinese mainland.

Among the deaths, 37 were in Hubei Province and one in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to the National Health Commission.

Meanwhile, 143 new suspected cases were reported, said the commission.

A total of 2,652 patients of the novel coronavirus disease were discharged from hospital after recovery Tuesday on the Chinese mainland, the commission said. In total, 49,856 patients had been discharged from hospital by the end of Tuesday.

By the end of Tuesday, a total of 80,270 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 had been reported on the mainland, and 2,981 people had died of the disease.

Hubei Province, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, reported 115 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 37 deaths on Tuesday, according to the commission.

The latest report brought the total confirmed cases in the hard-hit province to 67,332.

Hubei is expected to gradually shut down temporary hospitals and cut the number of hospitals designated for the disease, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The province will classify areas based on different risks of infection for management as more cities have seen zero growth in newly confirmed cases, according to Tu Yuanchao, deputy head of the provincial health commission.